This invention relates to equipment for the testing of dynamoelectric machines, and in particular, to an automatic motor tester.
It has long been the practice in the manufacture dynamoelectric machines and in particular, of electric motors, to run a series of operational and quality control checks to ensure that products produced by a motor plant, for example, are operating properly prior to shipment to a particular customer. The testing equipment generally includes leads which are connected to contacts of leads on the motor to connect the motor to an analyser or controller, such as a computer, which will run the required tests. In the past, the motor connection to the motor test device was accomplished manually. Such manual connection requires the operator to connect live wires to the motor or to disconnect electrical power to the test device, so that the wires will not be live. Electric motors can and often are relatively bulky and heavy, making manual handling of the motor and connection of the test wires to the motor difficult. Because the manual connection process is time consuming, testing often was restricted to selected samples of a production run. Selected sample testing, however, is not acceptable in many situations. For example, some customers require one-hundred percent test of a product. Even where the customer does not require full order testing, some motor types demand complete testing. Brushless permanent magnet motors and associated electronic control systems are finding greater acceptance in certain applications. Because of the number of components that may cause failure of the product, one-hundred percent testing of such motors and associated controls is required. Prior known manufacturing and testing processes do not lend themselves to efficient production when one-hundred percent testing is required.